The Golden Retriever’s easy going, gentle demeanor combined with their robustness of body, eagerness to please, and significant intelligence have consistently kept them near the top of the most popular American dogs for many years. As a result, Paw Print Genetics frequently comes in contact with golden retriever owners and breeders looking for specific genetic tests to help make sure their dogs are going to be healthy, and in addition, that their favorite breeding sire or dam is not a carrier for a recessive disease that may be inherited by their offspring.
One of the genetic diseases most commonly tested for in Golden Retrievers is the skin disease, ichthyosis. Ichthyosis is an autosomal recessive disease occurring due to mutations in the PNPLA1 gene and can be seen as early as the first few weeks of life in affected animals (to be affected, dogs must carry two copies of the mutated gene, one from each parent). The prefix of the word, “ichthy-”, comes from the Greek word, “ikhthus”, meaning fish. This is in reference to the fish-like dermal scales that characterize this disease. Most commonly, dogs present with mild to severe generalized skin scaling of ...